National expert to discuss the resurgent right wing, tonight in Helena

by: Jamee Greer

Fri Nov 13, 2009 at 11:35:15 AM MST

Senior analyst at the Massachusetts-based Political Research Associates, Berlet will give a presentation titled "Obama, Right-Wing Populism, and White Rage:  How Race, Class and Gender Anxiety Fuel Demonization and Scapegoating."  Berlet said his presentation will examine how "racial fears, economic anxieties, and gender panics" are triggers of a right-wing backlash that targets the Obama Administration.  The Right, he continued, is mobilizing resentment among a large number of middle-class and working-class whites who are convinced to support efforts that go against their own economic self interest and defend existing power structures.

Mr. Berlet is co-author of Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort. He's written for the Boston Globe, New York Times, The Progressive and Amnesty Now, and blogs on the Huffington Post, and Religion Dispatches.  

A response to a right-wing viral e'mail

by: Heartland1

Mon Feb 23, 2009 at 11:05:33 AM MST

I want a divorce

By John J. Wall

Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists, and Obama supporters, et al:
We have stuck together since the late 1950's, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce. I know, we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but, sadly, this relationship has run its course. Our two ideological sides of America cannot, and will not ever agree on what is right, so let's just end it on friendly terms. We can smile, chalk it up to irreconcilable differences, and go our own way.
I think you're right.  It's time for a divorce.  We've really had enough of all you mysoginistic angry white males and your monumental hypocrisy.  After all, it was you guys who remained silent while your poster-boy president seized and used all the powers which you used to find so tyrannical and unconstitutional--limitless unchecked surveillance activities, detention powers with no oversight, expanding federal police powers secret prison camps, and massively exploding and debt-financed domestic spending.  You meekly submitted to ALL OF IT, and even enthusiastically cheered it on.  

You're the same people who EMBRACED and JUSTIFIED  full-scale, impenetrable federal government secrecy and comprehensive domestic spying databases conducted in the dark and against the law.  You're the people who relentlessy opposed and impugned Clinton's military deployments that mercifully ended a genocide in the Balkans, and turned around and insisted that only those who are anti-American would DARE to question or oppose Bush's decision to start wars.

You're the same people who believe that George Bush's warrantless eavesdropping on Americans in violation of the law was a profound defense of freedom!  To sum up, you dressed up like warriors to fight Bill Clinton's imagined tyranny, and then on Jan. 20, 2001, dressed up in cheerleader costumes to glorify George Bush's far more extreme acquistions of federal power.  You really don't realize how ridiculous you look, do you?

Here is a model separation agreement: Let's review this agreement

Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass each taking a portion. That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that it should be relatively easy! Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate tastes.

We don't like redistributive taxes so you can keep them. We haven't had progressive taxation in this country for 30 years, but it sound's like a good idea.  Those who benefit the most can pay the most.  We're not sure how you'll pay your bills, but when have you ever worried about that.  80 percent of the national debt has been acquired under Republican regimes.  So, you can pay  your own damn way for a change.  You are welcome to the liberal judges  You mean judges that support individual rights, even our rights to challenge the soulless system that you regard as your highest and best creation?  Judges that refuse to impose your ideology (or any ideology) on schools and colleges at the expense of the rights the constitution guarantees?  OK, we'll take those judges.  You can have Alberto Gonzalez, and all those guys in the Federalist Society--you know--the ones who agree that iminent domain may be used for private profit, that a woman's womb is not really hers, and that she's not smart enough to know what to do with it anyway. the ACLU you know, we don't always agree with the ACLU either--like when they defended drug-addled, anal-cyst encrusted Rush Limbaugh, but they're our warriors for the constitution, and we'll take them.  We never know when we'll need them, and we're glad they're manning  the walls Since you hate guns and war, we'll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA, and the military. If every liberal is as well armed as I am, I think we'll be fine  I've got a half a dozen guns in the house, and I know how to use them.  But what make's you think you get the cops, automatically?  Sure, you can have the guys that beat the crap of Rodney King, but we'll take the cop on the beat, the people working hard every day to make our streets, our cities, and our lives better.  And we'll pay them a salary that respects the service the give the community.  And you think the military has been working to defend you and Fox News exclusively?  Are you delusional?  We'll take the military, at least the military that swears allegiance to the Constitution.   You can have Blackwater.  You can the  military-industrial complex, with all it's no-bid contracts, out of control procurement budgets, and the empire of forts and bases around the world.  We'll refashion a military that serves our defense, and that doesn't send 19 year olds to die in the desert to insure Exxon's profits, or you're ability to guzzle gas at 3 miles a gallon. You can keep Oprah Yeah, we'll take Oprah, Michael Moore Yes, and Michael Moore too.  Who's going to do your investigative journalism?  Glenn Beck?  Bill O'Reilly?  Good luck with that., and Rosie O'Donnell Yeah, and we can even handle Rosie! (You are, however, responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them) .

We'll keep the capitalism,  Fine, you keep predatory capitalism.  We'll do capitalism with enough regualtion so you can be sure that your pension or 401K won't evaporate into one of Ken Lay's 11 homes somewhere. greedy corporations and we'll ensure that business has a competitive playing field, not one biased against the small businesses,  domestic businesses, or the businesses that pay fair wages and are good community and environmental citizens, pharmaceutical companies  Fine, take them.  We'll start new ones.  After all, they piggy back on government research anyway.  If our's do that, we won't let them extend copyrights endlessy to insure huge profits.  We'll reward them for original research.  We'll sell drugs to you to subsidize our drug expenses--I'm sure you can appreciate that., Wal-Mart  Wall Mart?  YOU GOT IT!  We're looking forward to the blossoming of locally owned, mainstreet business, and the revitalization that will bring.  You can have your pipeline to cheap chinese crap. and Wall Street  Boy, you are a glutton for punishment!  The biggest welfare leaches in the history of the world, and the biggest whiners.  Take 'em.  They're all yours. You can have your beloved homeless, homeboys, hippies, and illegal aliens. You know, before the United States was even a country, William Penn founded a colony on North America dedicated to egalitaianism, and it prospered like nothing else because it took the refugees from all the intolerant places, places where the fundamentalists and bigots were burning and torturing them (Boston, for example).  We know a society is only as strong as it's weakest link.  And we value creative, original ideas.  And we are not so far removed from our roots, or so sanctimonious about our nobility that we can't remember when we too were homeless, illegal aliens.   We'll keep the hot (vacuous) Alaskan(tax evading) hockey moms take them--we'll take the Minnesota hockey moms, greedy CEO's (take them, we'll take the ones with a sense of social responsibility), and rednecks (I know plenty of gun-toting liberal rednecks.  You don't get them.  They're ours, and we're proud of them, too). We'll keep the Bibles (and we'll read our Bibles) and give you NBC and Hollywood Fine, we'll trade you Fox for NBC, and we love Hollywood.  They tell our stories.  What's not to love.

You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we'll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us (You know, we'll always side with the "egg" over the "wall" every  time.  We are all human beings, individuals transcending nationality and race and religion, fragile eggs faced with a solid wall  called the system. Each of us possess a tangible living soul.  The System has no such thing.  We will not allow the System to take on a life of its own.  The System did not make us:  We made the system.) You can have the peaceniks (we call them our "conscience"), and war protesters (We'll take them too, brave sons of bitches that they are.  They've saved a lot of good soldiers from your greedy CEO's over the years.  Matter of fact, we'll build them a memorial in Washington, while we're at it. When our allies or our way of life are under assault,(Haven't you noticed?  YOU DON'T HAVE ANY ALLIES!  No one else shares your values.  They'll watch you fight, but they won't fight to save you)we'll help provide them security.  (So this is your theory--you provide protection for them, but are unwilling to demand protection of American industry?  I know, I know--apples and oranges)

We'll keep our Judeo-Christian values (We'll keep the Christian values, at least the ones from the Sermon on the Mount.  You can have Leviticus--you know, the ones that let you keep slaves and prostitute your daughters, and don't let you eat shrimp.  We get the shrimp and shellfish!!!). You are welcome to Islam (fine), Scientology(ok, they're a little crazy, but...we'll take 'em!), Humanism, (yeah, we'll take that!  The Enlightenment, the Renaissance, we like all that stuff.  So much more useful than the inquisition, or McCarthyism.)  and Shirley McClain (We'll take her!  Have you ever seen her legs??). You can also have the U.N.  (Yeah, the UN is a good thing, we'll take it.  No man is an island and all that.  We'll take UNESCO.  We'll take peacekeeping.  We'll take advantage of the forum it offers.) But we will no longer be paying the bill. (Nope, you'll be on your own.  But then paying the bill has never been your strong suit, so what difference will it make?)

We'll keep the SUVs, pickup trucks, and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Subaru station wagon you can find. (Ok, we'll take the Subarus, and the hybrids, the electric plug-ins, the photovotaics and the windmills.  We'll take the mass transit, and the railroads.  When gas is back up to $4 or $5 a gallon, I'm sure you'll find a use for those SUV's and oversized luxury cars.  Maybe you can take your guns and shoot them full of holes and use them for septic tanks, or something.

You can give everyone healthcare (Good idea--it works in the rest of the world, and many of my friends who happen to be doctors are all for it!), if you can find any practicing doctors. We'll continue to believe healthcare is a luxury and not a right.  (We'll see you in Hellth!!--sorry, Stephen Colbert, I couldn't resist!) We'll keep The Battle Hymn of the Republic and the National Anthem. (Fine, you can have those,  maybe America the Beautiful will work better for us, or This Land is Your Land.  And thanks for the idea--Imagine!!  I've always liked that song, or that Shaker tune, what is it...Simple Pleasures??) I'm sure you'll be happy to substitute Imagine, I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing, Kum Ba Ya, or We Are the World.

We'll practice trickle down economics, and you can give trickle up poverty your best shot. (Well, we plan to give that a try.  We know that it's Demand that creates an economy, not Supply. Since it often so offends you we'll keep our history(Sorry, but you don't get the history.  It's community property.  But we'll include the stuff you like to leave out.  "A People's History of the United States", by Howard Zinn will be a required textbook in High School.  You can keep your jingoistic versions of history) , our name (You know, you've screwed up the "brand" so bad in the last 8 years that maybe we'll agree to this, and just make a clean break on this one), and our flag.(We might just skip the whole "Flag" thing.  Too many associations. Maybe we'll use the "egg" as a symbol, how about that?  OK, I know I'm going to be overruled by my fellow liberals.

Would you agree to this? (Have we agreed?!)  If so please pass it along to other like minded liberal and conservative patriots, and if you do not agree, just hit delete. In the spirit of friendly parting, I'll bet you ANWAR which one of us will need whose help in 15 years. (We'll see that ANWAR, and raise you a Sustainable Economy)

Sincerely, John J. Wall
Law Student and an American
Sincerely,  Jeff Shelden
Small Businessman for the last 30 years, and an American
with thanks and apologies  to Glenn Greewald, Haruki Murakami, Albert Camus, and L.B.

P.S. Also, please take Barbara Streisand & Jane Fonda  (You bet, they're coming with us.  You can have Michelle Malkin and Ann Colter)

I'm Not Kidding. These People are Crazy.

by: Matt Singer

Sat Apr 21, 2007 at 10:42:08 AM MST

As if that wasn't wacky enough, it also contains the argument that John Negroponte is part of a pro-China cabal operating in the U.S. government.

Insane doesn't even begin to sum this up. Greenwald writes:

Five years from now, and 20 years from now, and 50 years from now, there is going to be a substantial portion of the American population which insists that Saddam really did have WMDs when we invaded. It is not uncommon for a substantial portion of the population of any country to live in a purely mythical world, where desire -- rather than reality -- dictates beliefs. But it is most assuredly unusual for such a group to be the dominant political faction governing the world's only remaining superpower.